Man wanted in portugal for attempted
homicide apprehended in new jersey
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE |
April 15, 2011 |
NEWARK, N.J. – A man wanted in Portugal for the attempted murder of his ex-wife appeared in Newark federal court today in connection with an extradition request by Portuguese authorities, U.S. Attorney Paul J. Fishman announced.
Manuel Albert Soares, 55, a dual national of Portugal and the United States, appeared in court today before U.S. Magistrate Judge Madeline Cox Arleo on the basis of an extradition Complaint filed in Newark federal court on April 13, 2011. Judge Arleo detained the defendant without bail pending an extradition hearing which has been scheduled for May 3, 2011.
On Monday, April 11, 2011, Soares was pulled over for a traffic violation in Elizabeth, N.J., by a New Jersey State Police trooper. The state trooper ran Soares’ identification through the National Crime Information Center (NCIC) and determined that Soares was wanted for extradition to Portugal.
According to documents filed in Newark federal court:
The government of Portugal has requested the extradition of Soares from the United States to serve four years and six months in prison in connection with the aggravated attempted homicide of his ex-wife. Although Soares and his wife were divorced in September 1999, the two continued to share a business in Portugal, from which Soares was fired in 2004.
In May 2006, Soares solicited two individuals to kill his ex-wife. The individuals notified the Portuguese police about Soares’ solicitation, and agreed to work with the police. The individuals engaged in numerous phone calls with Soares, who gave them written instructions about how the murder of his ex-wife was to be carried out and €5,000 – half the fee for the murder. Soares was tried in Portugal on the charges and acquitted on September 7, 2007. The prosecution appealed the judgment to the Portuguese Supreme Court of Justice, which on October 16, 2008, revoked the lower court’s acquittal and sentenced Soares to the prison term. On March 24, 2009, an international arrest warrant was issued by Portuguese authorities for Soares.
U.S. Attorney Fishman praised the work of Interpol’s United States National Central Bureau, the Office of International Affairs in the U.S. Department of Justice’s Criminal Division, and the New Jersey State Police for the apprehension of the defendant.
The government is represented by Assistant U.S. Attorney Jonathan W. Romankow of the U.S. Attorney’s Office Criminal Division.
11-158
Defense counsel: K. Anthony Thomas, Esq., Assistant Federal Public Defender, Newark
